Do you look forward to waking up as the sun is rising over the horizon? I do. My name is Randy, and I live on a farm in Regina, Canada. My bedroom is on the second floor of my parent's house, and the horizon looks like sprinkled gold in the morning. My father is a wheat and cattle farmer. When I see the golden wheat flowing in the wind each morning, it looks like millions of swaying dancers, performing a ballet.

I live in a province of Canada called Saskatchewan. It‘s an Indian name that came from the Cree Indians who used to live in this area. The land is very flat here, and you can see wheat fields in every direction.

One Sunday, I woke up early and decided to hike toward a city called Moose Jaw. I left a note for my parents, and off I went. As I walked through the growing wheat, I could see thousands of prairie lilies, which meant that the grain was ripening and would soon be harvested. The prairie lily has three golden sheaves, and it is part of the Saskatchewan flag that flies over the capital building in Regina.

It was about an hour later that something caught my eye. There in the middle of a wheat field was a man dressed in coveralls who was gathering bunches of tall wheat strands. As I approached, I recognized our neighbor, Mr. Pritchard. I was astonished at what he was doing. He had created a straw figure that stood about three feet tall. The doll-like figure was bent over with a pitchfork in his hand. I was amazed at Mr. Pritchard‘s skill at creating a life-like grain sculpture. Finally he noticed me and smiled.

He invited me to his house and told me that he would show me all of his wheat statues. In one corner of his barn, he had a studio. On the shelves were straw figures of numerous designs —men driving tractors, horses pulling tillers, women and children cutting wheat stalks, ladies doing laundry with old fashioned wash boards, and Canadian Mounties (policemen) on horses.

He saw how impressed I was, and handed me a straw figure of a boy. My mouth opened wide when he told me that I could keep it. As I was leaving, he said that the next time I came he would teach me how to make these figures. I couldn't wait to get home and show my parents my gift and tell them about our neighbor who is a wheat farmer, as well as an artist.

Map of Nova Scotia. Regina is the capital.